The House Appropriations Committee has voted 9-0 in favor of introducing 14 new appropriation bills, 12 of them identical to those already introduced this morning in JFAC but sent to the Senate, and two identical to two others on which the Senate has not yet acted. It's the first time since the debacle of the 2003 session, when the House set its own entire budget, that the panel has tried budgeting without its Senate half. House Appropriations Chairwoman Maxine Bell, R-Jerome, said, "I don't like it - it's the best system in the world. It's clean, it's efficient. ... I'm truly sorry that we've come to this impasse." Rep. George Eskridge, R-Dover, said, "From our perspective in the House, we see no reason not to be able to finish Wednesday night. This puts us in line to finish our business and go home." Bell said she's not happy with that approach, but, she said, "I'm a House member. So when the House adjourns tomorrow night, obviously, I leave. ... None of us want to handle it this way."

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